Know Before You Go, Movie Reviews

Meet The Robinsons.
Disney/Pixar animation with the voices of Angela Bassett, Jordan Fry, Tom Kenny, Harlan Williams, Adam West, Daniel Hansen, Tom Selleck. Buena Vista Pictures. Family/Sci-fi adventure/fantasy. Directed by Stephan J. Anderson.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Lewis is an orphan, a creative 12-year-old inventor who dreams of finding a family. His journey takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson whisks him away to a world where anything is possible…THE FUTURE. There, he meets an incredible assortment of characters and a family beyond his wildest imagination, the Robinsons, who help lead him on an amazing and hilarious adventure with heartfelt results. But while Lewis is experiencing the joy of family, he is also being perused by the dastardly Bowler Hat Guy, a villain bent on possessing one of Lewis's latest inventions - the Memory Scanner.
REVIEW: There are few sounds greater than children laughing. And for a film critic who has suffered through many a mediocre kid's movie, what a pleasure to feel the same joy the intended audience received from watching a film. Full of energy and humor, with an exceptional voice cast and a clever, and a thoughtful script that is part adventure, part parable, Meet the Robinsons delivers one of the best family films you'll see this year.
Meet the Robinsons is being shown in 3-D in some theaters. Now, I want you to do yourself - and especially your kids - a favor. Go out of your way to see this one in 3-D. Trust me on this. You'll be sending me notes of gratitude. It may be the best 3-D animation this reviewer has ever seen. The detail is eye-filling.
I felt good when I left the theater. I had just seen a family film that had more on its mind than just being rated G. I sensed the filmmakers were having a blast making this film and that they wanted to go the extra mile. They succeeded. Quite simply put, Meet the Robinsons is a winner for the entire family.
G (some of the frenetic, cartoonish action may disturb very little ones; Mom or Pop should be there to reassure; the villain is comical, he wants to take happiness away from our hero, this may also unnerve very little ones; it contains several positive message concerning friendship, facing life's difficulties and a healthy reminder to “keep moving forward.”) Running Time: 92 min. Intended Audience: Family

Premonition.
Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Nia Long, Kate Nelligan, Amber Valletta, Peter Stormare. MGM Tri Star. Psychological thriller. Written by Bill Kelly. Directed by Mennan Yapo.
FILM SYNOPSIS: A woman's perfect life is turned upside down when she receives devastating news that her husband had died in a car accident. But the next morning, she wakes up with him by her side, alive and well. She assumes it was a bad dream. But the nightmare is not over. The surreal ordeal keeps happening, with new information given after each terrifying wake-up.
REVIEW: Though a few scenes were clumsily directed, overall, I found myself engrossed by the film's cleverness. At one point, hearing someone in the shower after her husband is dead, she slowly (and I mean slowly) creeps up to the curtain. With the music building to a jolt, she reaches out and nervously pulls it back, revealing him. He turns to her ala Bobby Ewing in TV's Dallas, as if he's been home all along. The filmmaker would have been wise to set up this situation differently, as the missing-husband-in-the-shower motif has been spoofed numerous times since the Dallas days.
There are other scenes that didn't ring true, but generally it is an involving film, with a strong performance by Ms. Bullock. What's more, there are several positive messages, including the sanctity of marriage and fighting for what's important in your life. And the film presents a man of God in a positive light (very rare in movies). Disturbed to near madness by the strange occurrences, Ms. Bullock's character goes to see her priest. She has turned to a man of faith for guidance. What's more, she takes his advice. The film addresses issues of the need for faith, forgiveness, realizing what's important and other spiritual aspects. Though the ending is not the happy one we associate with Sandra Bullock movies, it does offer hope and inspiration.
PG-13 (five obscenities, three misuses of Christ's name; the expression “oh my God” is uttered a couple of times; we learn of a car crash; later we see a fiery explosion as a gas truck collides with a car; a bird is electrocuted during a storm; a child runs into a glass door and receives stitches; a few jolting moments and some disturbing imagery, such as a woman tripping and falling on a bloodied bird and at one point in her hallucination, she is strapped down and injected with drugs in a sanitarium; the child's face is bloodied by running into the glass door; implied between a married couple; adultery is addressed, but a lesson is learned; a wife and their little girls learn of the husband's death and deal with grief). Running Time: 96 min. Intended Audience: Older teens and adults

Pride.
Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kevin Phillips. Lionsgate. Sports drama. Written by Michael Gozzard, K. Michael Smith, Millis Goodloe. Directed by Sunu Gonera.
FILM SYNOPSIS: Based on true events, the film tells of an African American swim coach who recruits troubled teens onto a Philadelphia swim team. Terrence Howard stars as Jim Ellis, a concerned man who affected lives with his determination and caring spirit.
REVIEW: Like every other entry into the sports genre, Pride has an outline that adheres to an uncompromising steadfastness. Here's that format:
Attitude is leading a young group astray
A tough-but-good-hearted instructor is introduced to the group
They form a team, but get beaten due to their attitude
The tough-but-good-hearted instructor gives them THE SPEECH
They begin to take their sport and each other seriously
Hope is on the horizon
Then obstacles test them
Then they win by one last ditch effort - shown in slo-mo.
These films are as alike as nickel heads, but if done right, they involve and entertain - and even teach. Pride gets it right. Nothing new, absolutely nothing, yet it has an energy, characters you care about and the tough-but-good-hearted instructor is played by Terrence Howard, an actor of great magnetism. Like Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Sidney Poitier, Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow, Crash) is a class act, a good actor who takes his profession seriously. And he is terrific, here.
The film has several good themes, including facing life, not quitting, showing resilience and the need for education. It also addresses a painful reality: the bigotry shown to African Americans even as late as the mid-1960s. Ellis' own coach, a white man, is portrayed as a good guy who obviously judges others without bigotry. Just about all the other whites featured, however, are downright villainous in their speech and behavior. Seeing the film with a mixed audience, I sensed resentment from the black members, who, as the underdogs finally became victorious, clapped with a fierceness that suggested suppressed rancor. I wondered if that resentment would ever be completely vanquished. It's a scar that may eventually heal, but I fear will never completely disappear. Mankind has many scars to remind today's generation of the wrongness done out of a prejudiced judgment. Will they learn from the mistakes and misjudgments of their ancestors?
PG (a black man refers to others with the N-word; eight or so uses of the s-word and several minor expletives; I caught no misuse of God's name or Christ's; a drug dealer who rules the neighborhood finally crosses the line and is beaten by the coach, who later repents for handling the situation with violence; the villain trashes the center and is seen from behind urinating in the pool; the drug dealer is also a pimp, with two prostitutes on his arm, but this lifestyle is not glorified; there are a few references to drugs, as the antagonist is a dealer, but none of the lead characters do drugs). Intended Audience: Preteens, teens and adults.

Beyond the Gates.
Hugh Dancy, John Hurt, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Nicola Walker. Written by David Wolstencroft. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones. IFC Films.
FILM SYNOPSIS: Beyond the Gates concerns a young man who has come to teach at a Catholic secondary school during the Rwandan genocide. A non-religious man, he is nonetheless an admirer of the priest who heads the school. As danger nears, hundreds of Rwandans take refuge behind the gates of the school, while the UN does nothing to help them. Another tribe waits outside to slaughter these people. They know the UN soldiers guarding the compound will leave. They wait in order to kill their fellow Rwandans.
It is a story about love, the sacrifices we make for others, and the choices we make when our faith is tested. The film will begin opening in select theaters March 9. The story was written by producer and former BBC reporter David Belton, and is based on a Catholic priest he met, and whom he credits for saving his life and many others, during his time as a reporter in Rwanda. Additional information can be found at www.alrcnewskitchen.com/beyondthegates.
REVIEW: A powerful, deeply moving film, maybe the most important one you'll see this year. Director Michael Caton-Jones (City By the Sea) skillfully involves the viewer, as we grow to know and care for the characters, and the script by first-time screenwriter David Wolstencroft addresses faith and presents a man of God as truly that, a man who reverences God and embraces Christ's command to love others.
Rated R for some language and for violent imagery, but the content is not exploitive.
Too often we see films featuring the foibles and evils of men who proclaim to be Christians while living an immoral life. Here, in the face of death, the priest shows courage, while expressing compassion and love for his assailant. It is a very effecting moment. Indeed, it reminds us to draw closer to Christ in order to find that love for our fellow man.
R (ten or so obscenities; two misuses of Christ's name; though handled with discretion, killing is depicted in order to recreate the butchery that plagued Rwanda in the early 1990s; we see many killings and many more dead bodies along the side of roads; we see bloodied dead bodies; child birth). Running Time: 110 min. Intended Audience: Older teens and adults